The Huntsman Corp. announced Thursday it will invest $78 million to expand its chemical plant in Geismar.

At a press conference with Gov. Bobby Jindal, the Salt Lake City, Utah-based company said the expansion would create 17 direct jobs with an average salary of $92,000. Another 60 indirect jobs at other companies or facilities and 100 construction jobs are also expected as a result of the expansion.

Huntsman founder and executive chairman Jon M. Huntsman Sr. said the expansion announced Thursday is fairly small, but is reflective of his company's plans to boost American manufacturing across the country.

Jindal also described the expansion as part of a larger "renaissance" in American manufacturing, particularly in Louisiana. He lauded the high salaries of the jobs Huntsman's expansion will create.

"These are the kinds of jobs that we want our sons and daughters to fill," Jindal said.

The Geismar facility's expansion will allow the company to make more methylene diphenyl isocyanate, which goes into products like insulation for refrigerators and houses. The plant was first built in the 1960s and has more than 400 employees and 250 contractors working there.

Huntsman Corp. is expected to qualify for an industrial tax exemption, as well as a modernization tax credit worth $1.5 million over five years, Jindal said.

Huntsman joked at Thursday's press conference about potential political competition between Jindal and his own son, Jon Huntsman, Jr., the former Utah governor and 2012 presidential candidate.

"I'm not sure who to vote for for the next president of the United States," Huntsman said. "Bobby Jindal or Jon Huntsman Jr."